HansonRockin' a Little Old School
House of Blues, Chicago, IL November 3, 2008
by Cindy Barrymore

If it's possible for a band
to make you feel both old and young at the same time, Hanson is the
band that can do it. Old because you remember they were kids when they
released their 1997 #1 megahit "MMMBop," yet you feel eternally
young from the sheer vigor that still permeates the music after 11 years.
Now, grown up and married with children, Hanson's cuteness has worn
off and mature musicianship has kicked in.

Time has stripped away previous
comparisons to The Jackson 5 and Hanson's grungier counterpart, Silverchair.
They've been officially thrust into the echelon of solid rock and roll.
It may be only by virtue of their still-tender ages (Zac 23, Taylor
25, and Isaac 28) -- and the prepubescent girls that continue to swoon
over them -- that anyone still equates them with bubblegum pop.

Playing to a nearly packed
House of Blues, the Hanson brothers, backed by William Birkhead on bass
and Dimitrius Collins on keyboards and a Lenny Kravitz playing style
on guitar, seem to be feeling quite a bit more soulful these days, if
only in concert. The first of their two Chicago shows for their Walk
Around the World Tour, they opened with a cover of Sly & The Family
Stone's "(I Want to Take You) Higher," which segued well into
their own potent riff, "Been There Before." Even more impressive
than their studio releases were live versions of "Crazy Beautiful"
and the anthemic "Blue Sky."

The acoustic set, which included the social-conscious hit "Take
Our Chances," brought the youngest Hanson brother Zac from behind
his drum kit onto a smaller set of hand drums center stage alongside
his brothers. He also sung lead and played piano on the minimalist ballad
"On the Rocks," where he earned his share of swooning screams,
as well as ample flicks of the lighters.

Earning his own moniker of
hardest working man in show business, Taylor darted between playing
keyboards, piano and tambourine and working the masses, although the
latter effort was rarely necessary to incite the attentive crowd whose
chorus of Hanson repertory was clear and precise lip sync. The only
lull occurred during Isaac's rendition of Bill Withers' 1970s hit, "Use
Me." Although Isaac crooned a decent heart-felt melody, the lyrics
may have proven a little too old-school for the young crowd of millennials,
who then gleefully replaced their lack of familiarity with the song
with bobbing heads and howls of approval. Hanson also paid additional
homage to Withers, performing "Ain't No Sunshine" the next
night.

Earlier in the day, Isaac and Taylor sat at the Mac putting together
the show's set list from their now fifty-plus strong repertoire. "It's
a matter of deciding what to play," Taylor said. The choice gets
harder, but as with any band each new year brings about a new (and hopefully
better) interpretation. You know they're going to perform "MMMBop."
That's still a crowd pleaser. To be fair though, the band has evolved
from the Middle of Nowhere, and the song no longer epitomizes their
sound.